authorizeduser Loc: Monroe, Michigan

Thanks to all who have given me excellent suggestions to try ...
I appreciate your help! Turns out photography is not as easy as many think it is! :thumbup:

bdk Loc: Sanibel Fl.

I would change the F16 to maybe f8 and I certainly would speed up the shutter 1/1000 will stop the dog . If your learning, take LOTS ofpics change the settings each time and you'll learn what does and doesn't look good to you.

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

It's also not as complicated as some responders make it. rmalarz gave you a short straight forward answer for someone who simply wants to photograph his dog in the backyard. I would only add ... try taking the photos from closer to the ground; sit in a chair if necessary. Your photos will be more interesting.

greg vescuso Loc: Ozark,Mo.

I'm not being a jerk but why would you want to shoot a action shot at f16 with a lens that opens up to 1.4 now that being said I can't see anything in focus so to me your getting camera shake like you said you were panning. If your going to use aperture priority try shooting this at f4.0 and let your camera do the rest but make sure you pick only one focus point and put it right on the dogs head. If your using shutter priority set it to a at least 1/1000 sec. Or more. With aperture priority you can get more creative with your depth of field to only show what you want in focus. Now if you don't have enough light don't be afraid of opening that lens up more f2.8 or even f2.2

Coker Loc: Havana, IL

Here is a little silly rule that works most of the time. If the subject is moving.. shot on TV or S. If the Image is not moving consider Av or Aperture priority. This tells us, the dog is moving so, to freeze the action.. try a higher or faster shutter speed... Smile Bob

snoyes

If you are trying to get the stop motion, I would start by putting the camera into sports mode. That will pick a fast shutter and large aperture. It will also pick a center weighted focus. When you take the picture, make sure you giving the camera enough time to focus on the dog.

Good luck.
Steve

twr25 Loc: New Jersey

I shoot sports which involve a lot of movement. On a sunny day I would use Shutter Speed mode set a 1000th and let the camera do the rest. If you are not getting enough depth of field then use manual mode, 1/1000th and the F stop 8 to 11 or more for more depth and leave the iso on automatic. Todays cameras have a lot of latitude on iso with out adding too much noise.

Wallbanger Loc: Madison, WI

Panning takes practice, but you can have nice results once you get it down. If you have a race track of some sort near you, it's a great place to practice. I'm not an expert yet, still practicing.

The attached was ISO 100, F/14, 1/160

(Download)

canon Lee

This might be off point but for creativity you might want to consider keeping a bit of smear to show motion. A shot that is perfectly still framed and shows a dog levitating in air is not natural. Our eyes add smear, its how we see. Also I might suggest that you crop out most of the background to center the attention on the motion. As mentioned above, Panning is a great way to show motion. I prefer a shallow depth of field,with a bit of smear, up close filling the frame.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Hi,

Shooting moving objects is a continuous learning experience. Animals, autos, trains, birds, etc. all move at a different speed. Experience will help you to recall a more or less correct shutter speed after you've taken many, many shots (for most of us anyway) of each moving object. Even for the dog, the shutter speed depends on how fast he is moving, how far away, the light, the lens, the camera. It's all a big "dance." I've been shooting animals this year, often in motion (it's my personal assignment for the year: motion and animals) and I've learned that you really need to shoot fairly fast to get stopped motion. For birds you may want to shoot slower at times if you want the wings to be blurred, thus showing motion, but the body sharp and still. You also need to become adept at following the motion quickly, which can be a challenge. You'll get many bad photos, but you just keep working at it. Using manual, setting your aperture to 5.6 or around there, and to a shutter speed of at least 1250, but higher if you can, 1600 or 2ooo, will assure you sharper shots. Lightroom and other software applications do a great job of bringing up shadows if the photo is darker than you'd like it. I'd also like to suggest that you move in closer on the dog and wait until you see his face or eyes, grab a focus near the eyes, and then shoot multiple shots. Some lesser lenses may not work as well as a more expensive lens to get moving shots and this can also be a factor: know your lens and its capabilities. In the shots below of dogs playing (they just look fierce) I used an aperture of 5.0 and 5.6 and a shutter speed of 1250 and 2000, don't be afraid to try them all out. I used manual and ISO auto so the camera could set the ISO. The ISO was 500 and 900, as I was following the dogs around the yard the best I could, trying to stay 6 feet away as I was using a long lens, a Nikkor 80-400 and shooting around 80mm: they kept coming towards me of course! Even at wide open apertures, if you focus on the eye/head and can get a fairly sharp shot most of the animal will be in focus: this will not work taking a side shot of a long animal (think horse or moose) so then you would need to close down the aperture to get more in focus. It's good to know in advance what effect you want from the shot, then plan for that effect.